


Ocean-Blue Eyes

by Oregano_Cactus



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Lots of Crying, M/M, Magical Boys, Summer Festivals, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it banri cameo, background tasutsumu (subtle), general love for godza link skill, god AU, kumon errand boy, kumon kinda-dies but he's okay, supportive brother juza, taiku is so good, they fall in love!!! theyre sweet!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27092629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oregano_Cactus/pseuds/Oregano_Cactus
Summary: "He’s beautiful like this, Kumon thinks, and stays hidden behind the tree a while longer. The red light strikes his eyes even bluer, and his hair even brighter; it’s a beauty he doesn’t know if he should witness. The glass of the ramune bottles chimes at his side, and as he looks at Taichi through the bottles, he thinks it almost reminds him of the stained glass he used to love so much as a child—otherworldly, so full of color it feels like it’ll burst, and glowing softly with the golden light of care."Kumon befriends a strange puppy-like boy who he meets at a local shrine, and they slowly grow closer as Kumon realizes his own worth and Taichi realizes that there are some things worth getting serious for. Their only problem is that there's a strange force that keeps plaguing Taichi with awful headaches, and Kumon starts to realize Taichi's not quite what he seems...
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza & Hyoudou Kumon, Hyoudou Kumon/Nanao Taichi, Nanao Taichi & Takatoo Tasuku, Nanao Taichi & Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my best friend Zero! Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long, but I'm (somewhat) back and ready to go. 
> 
> Italics indicate speaking/thinking. 
> 
> If you enjoy my writing, please leave me a comment or some kudos! I'd appreciate it a huge amount ^w^

Kumon is the errand boy for this year’s summer festival, it seems, with the villager who had been put in charge of organizations thrusting another packet at him and telling him to deliver it to the man in charge of the shrines as soon as he could. The harsh sunlight beats down on his back and catches the glass of the villager’s spectacles, blinding him for a brief moment before he darts away with a polite “ _Excuse me!”._

Arriving at the cool shade of the shrine, he throws himself down on the stone after handing his package off, letting out a sigh. _“Ah, Tsumugi-san, isn’t it really too hot today to be making me do this kind of stuff? Not like I’m not up for it, but I can literally see the heat,”_ he gestures, and the man in charge of the shrines laughs. 

_“Well, someone’s got to do it, right? And I’m thankful it’s you, Kumon, instead of someone who’d be much slower and much more of a slacker. Come into the main building whenever you want within the next couple minutes, and I’ll reward you for your effort, hm?”_ Tsumugi grins, and Kumon smiles back, electing to lie on the tiles for just a little while longer. 

_It’s honestly too hot to even move_ , he thinks, and that’s when a red-haired boy appears in his line of sight, grinning bright enough to rival the sun. 

“ _Why’re you lying on the floor?’_ he asks, and Kumon shoots up, nearly hitting his forehead against the other’s. 

“ _Ah, sorry! I was just about to head in with Tsumugi-san, I really didn’t mean to desecrate the shrine or anything, my apologies—”_

The boy flicks him on the forehead, lightly, and smiles again. _“Nah, it’s whatever, I don’t really mind. Besides, all of these shrine people make too big a deal about desecration, it’s the meaning that really matters!”_

Kumon blinks, a touch flustered, before pulling himself into a proper sitting position. _“I mean, you’d probably know more than me, being someone who actually works here, so I’ll trust you on that. Why’re you out right now, anyways, when it’s so hot?”_

Yawning, Kumon misses the way that the boy’s eyes widen and he blinks, only looking up when the boy says, _“Ah, just thought I’d get a taste of summer’s heat for once, you know? You don’t get to feel the scorching sun like this every day!”_ Kumon shrugs, lost in the mystery of why anyone would willingly subject themselves to the heat, and dusts himself off as he stands up. “ _Where’re you going?”_

He startles, having somehow nearly lost track of the boy in the couple seconds he’d been out of sight, and sighs. _“Into the main building, Tsumugi-san’s offered me a reward because I complained too much, I think.”_ His eyes shift, and he sees the boy fidgeting with his shirt. _“Wanna come? I think Tsumugi-san would be okay giving it to someone else, he’s just that kind of person.”_

_“Ah, I really shouldn’t—”_ the boy laughs, before Kumon grabs his arm and tugs him along. _“Wait!”_ He’s strangely interested in this boy with red hair and ocean-bright eyes, and he figures offering a gift (even if it’s from someone else) is the best way to get to know him better. 

“ _C’mon, it’ll be fine! Plus, you work here, I’m sure Tsumugi-san would be willing to give you something too!”_

The boy smiles as he’s pulled into the main area, Kumon’s fingers tight around his wrist. 

— 

_“Tsumugi-san, I’ve bought a friend,”_ Kumon calls, dragging the boy behind him. _“Sorry, I know you said just for me, but he looks nice! You can spare some extra, right?”_ He puts on his best puppy eyes, the one that gets his older brother to cave no matter what, and looks up at Tsumugi as he pleads. 

Tsumugi, for his part, is doing an excellent job at stifling his laughter at Kumon’s antics, when he looks at the boy who’d tagged along and his eyes widen. 

_“I—”_ He only manages to get a single word out before the boy darts out of Kumon’s grasp and sidles up to Tsumugi, eyes twinkling. 

_“Hello! I haven’t met you before, but this guy promised me a treat if I followed him, and I think you’re the one giving it out, so can you please let me have some too?”_ he rambles, excited, and Tsumugi pauses in shock before shaking his bangs loose lightly and shuttering his eyes. 

_“It’s no problem,”_ he says in an aside, and turns to Kumon. _“Now, Kumon, your reward: I’ve just fetched the amazake, and I’ll let you have a tiny sip if you don’t tell anyone. You’re growing up, so I think you deserve a little treat, hm?”_

“ _And him, too?”_ Kumon gestures, eagerly straining to see if he can catch a peek of the drink.

_“Of course, I’ll indulge for you both.”_ Tsumugi leads them to the drink, allowing Kumon to take a sip first, and makes to take the ladle when Kumon withdraws his hand. 

_“Oh, sorry, you haven’t had a chance yet!”_ The boy takes the ladle happily, sipping a little bit more than Kumon thinks he should, and Kumon wonders whether he should say anything or not. _“Eh…isn’t that a bit much?”_

The boy laughs, and Kumon brightens up. _“It’s alright! I’ll be fine, alcohol really isn’t too bad for—for people like me.”_

Tsumugi gently takes the ladle back from them, tucking it away neatly as they chatter, and claps his hands. _“While I’m glad you two are getting along, shouldn’t it be time for proper introductions? Remember your manners, Kumon.”_

Kumon startles, and quickly scrambles to dip his head in a half-bow. _“Oh! I’m Kumon Hyodo, like Tsumugi-san said, and I’m just helping out for tonight’s festival! I like my older brother, running, catch-ball, and pork. It’s nice to meet you!”_

Nodding, the boy responds in turn: _“I’m…Taichi! Um, Taichi Nanao! I hang around at the shrine a lot, and I don’t really do much else…and I like pork too, I think. I’ve never really tried any!”_

_“Good,”_ Tsumugi says. _“Now, I’m sure the man who sent me this package is missing you, Kumon. Run along and see what else needs work, alright?”_ Taichi pouts in his peripheral, and he sighs. _“Why don’t you take Taichi with you? Get him out of this shrine for once.”_

_“Alright!”_ Kumon chirps, darting away, and Taichi follows hot on his trail, shouting at him to wait up. 

— 

It’s much later in the afternoon when Tsumugi finally packs up and retreats to his room, to find a shadow of a man waiting for him. _“You seem perturbed,”_ the shadow remarks, and Tsumugi just giggles. 

_“Eh, Taa-chan, I just want to know why Taichi’s down here,”_ he says, and the shadow startles, coalescing into the figure of a tall and serious-looking man. 

_“He’s here? Why?”_ he asks, and Tsumugi just shrugs. 

_“I thought you knew already…?”_ Tsumugi asks in turn, looking confused. _“So he didn’t let—”_

_“I hope he stays safe,”_ the man glares, inadvertently cutting off Tsumugi’s sentence. 

_“Calm down, he’ll handle himself fine, I’m sure. Now, come with me and we’ll go get absolutely drunk at the festival like we used to do, then I can yell at you in the morning for not getting hangovers,”_ Tsumugi smiles, linking arms with the man. “ _Please?”_

“ _Ah, sure,”_ he sighs, and steps outside. _“Just don’t complain too much tomorrow.”_

— 

Kumon quickly realizes Taichi doesn’t run as fast as he does when he slows down and sees him still several paces behind, wheezing on his knees. _“Eh, Taichi, are you okay?”_ he calls, back-stepping, and Taichi waves him off with a hand. 

_“‘M fine!”_ he wheezes out. _“All good!”_

_“We can take a break if you’d like, you know! I don’t wanna accidentally make you pass out or anything…”_ Kumon steps nearer, and while he’s fiddling with his bag, his hand brushes against the water he’d stashed in there earlier at the shrine. _“Ah! This’ll help, so drink up!”_

He presses the still-somewhat cold bottle to Taichi’s forehead, delighting in the way he startles, and offers it out. _“Water’ll help, especially with it being as hot as it is…”_

Taichi takes the bottle hesitantly, throwing back a gulp after a moment. “ _You’re sure you wanna let me have this?”_

“ _Yeah, sure! That’s what friends are for, right?”_ Kumon grins, tucking the bottle back into his bag. 

_“We’re friends already?”_ Taichi’s voice is wondering, a touch incredulous, and Kumon finds himself drawn to the slight hint of _something_ he hears underneath his voice. 

_“Of course! We’ve gotten a drink together, and hung out together, so in my book that means we’re friends. Also, it’s a lot less boring to do this stuff with someone else, you know,”_ he says, wanting to coax out Taichi’s smile again. 

Taichi does crack a smile at that, taking Kumon’s offered hand to haul himself up, and Kumon delights in the electricity that he imagines flows between their palms for a moment. 

_“Now, our next delivery is to the old man who runs the clothing store, except it’ll probably be his son who answers and his son seems mean but he’s actually very nice! Also, don’t call his son a girl, not unless you want to…”_ His voice fades off as they travel down the dirt path, eaten up by the cracked soil, and Kumon doesn’t remember to let go of Taichi’s hand until they’re about halfway to their destination. 

— 

Kumon forgets, in his delight at having made a friend, how to deal with the side district that he’d been ordered to run a package of paper down to. 

It’s a dangerous place, his older brother had said, and he’d made him promise to never go in there without either him or the stupid guy with weird hair he hung around with sometimes. He’d heard too, from their mother, that there were all sorts of people and things that hung around in there, and that he was too pretty and too young to be going in there (accompanied by a pinch to the cheeks) and he should avoid it at all costs. 

Well, he was halfway into the district now, and had only just started to remember why the younger kids were told to stay away from here. 

The lanterns hanging from the storefronts had begun to flicker, making it increasingly hard to navigate the twilight that was fast approaching, and he marched stiff-legged as he steadfastly refused to look any direction that wasn’t his destination. _“Don’t look at them,”_ his brother had warned. _“They’ll take it as a challenge.”_

The only reason, if he was being honest, that he hadn’t turned around and ran yet was walking at his side, eyes and hair as bright as always. _“Ah, that painting really is pretty, isn’t it?”_ Taichi asks to his left, and Kumon stiffens. 

_“Don’t look at the storefront displays, Taichi,”_ he hisses out of the corner of his mouth, and links his arm with Taichi’s again. It’s a bit of a coward move, maybe, but he’d prefer looking like a coward to losing him. 

_“Why? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them…”_

“ _Taichi?”_ Kumon turns his head at the sound of Taichi’s voice trailing off, and his anxiety spikes higher upon seeing the burly man in their path. _“Taichi—”_

_“What’re you two boys doing here, huh?”_ the man snarls, and Kumon starts shaking. He’d been warned of this by everyone, he’d gone foolishly into the side district after the sun had started to set, and now he and Taichi were going to die when nobody knew where they were. _“Looking to pick a fight?”_

_“No, sir, we were—we were just on our way, it’ll be but a moment,”_ he babbles, and tugs Taichi even closer. _“My sincerest apologies!”_

_“No, you won’t be on your way,”_ the man says, voice turning contemplative, and he feels Taichi tense up at his side. _“That boy looks interesting. Boy, won’t you come with me, and I’ll give you a reward in return? Something to sweeten the deal?”_

Kumon clutches Taichi tight, horrified. _“I—I—”_ Taichi stutters out, eyes blown wide, and the man steps another mark closer. 

_“You’ve got that look about you, you know. You should really consider coming with me.”_ His stare is lecherous, and it fills Kumon’s body with disgust. _“It’s the night of the wolf god’s festival, and I think you remind me quite a lot of a puppy, yeah? All bright eyes and sharp teeth, what a coincidence.”_ He shrugs, nonchalantly, and Taichi shivers. _“Perhaps fate led you to me.”_

Kumon feels Taichi drop from next to him and onto the dirt, and panics. _“Taichi!”_

When he looks down, Taichi’s kneeling on the ground, clutching his head, and tears are moistening the dirt that lies beneath them. _“I—No, I can’t—I don’t want to be here—”_ he hears Taichi choke out, and his heart sinks. 

_“I can help get your friend to a safe place, kid,”_ the man offers, apparently unshaken by whatever’s going on, and Kumon stands up in a burst of anger. 

_“I’ll take care of him just fine myself, thanks,”_ he snaps, and puffs himself up like he used to do in the mirror to imitate his brother. _“I don’t think you should be talking to us anymore.”_

In the next instant, he hauls Taichi up from the ground and onto his back, and knees protesting against the added weight, begins to run far, far away. 

— 

He only stops after a kilometer or so, after he’s confident he’s lost the man in the turns he’s taken, and gently slides Taichi off his back before collapsing onto the ground for the second time that day. 

_“Taichi, you alright?”_ Kumon throws his question out into the cool night air, enjoying the feel of it brushing his hot cheeks. _“Is everything okay?”_

It’s a couple long moments before Taichi responds, propping himself up on his elbows. _“Sorry, I don’t—I don’t know what happened.”_ Kumon flips over to look at him, but Taichi won’t meet his eyes. _“Sorry.”_

He flops over onto Taichi’s lap, feeling bold after escaping the weird man from the side district, and smiles. _“Don’t be sorry! Friends help each other out when they need to, yeah?”_ It’s weird to not see Taichi smile. He doesn’t think he likes it very much. 

_“...Yeah,”_ he hears Taichi say from above him, and then feels slender fingers carding through his hair. _“Hey, can I ask you a question?”_

Kumon’s blissed out enough from Taichi petting his hair that he sleepily nods, smile still on his face. 

_“...Wanna go to the festival?”_

He sits up at that, nearly bumping foreheads again. _“Like—like just you and me, you mean? At the festival?”_

_“Yeah, sure. Why not? It’ll be fun, and there’ll be lots of stuff to do!”_ The sparkle in Taichi’s eyes seems to be returning as he continues, and Kumon lights up with him. 

_“If you wanna go, I’m okay for whatever! I just gotta let my brother know, otherwise he’ll worry, but…”_ He flushes, hoping the night is enough to hide just how red his face is getting. _“...I do wanna go to the festival, so maybe after we head back I’ll meet you at the shrine again in an hour or so?”_

He hears Taichi laugh, and relaxes. _“You’re cute when you’re blushing, you know!”_

He flushes even deeper. _“What—How’d you see that!”_

_“You’re cute when you’re cool too, like when you were standing up for me earlier,”_ Taichi says in a softer tone, and Kumon tilts his head up a little to see Taichi’s ocean eyes staring at him. _“Thanks for that too, I’ll get you something nice tonight to make up for it.”_

He can’t bring himself to stare into those eyes for too long, and reluctantly drags himself off Taichi’s lap. _“W—Well, I’m gonna make it expensive, ‘kay?”_

They walk down the dirt road together, laughing, and Kumon thinks that Taichi’s eyes are glowing just a bit brighter in the hazy light of the twilight. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer festival shenanigans!

Kumon tugs at his sash, having fussed over it for ages in his room before Juza had pushed him out and told him to get going, and speeds up his walking pace just a little more. 

He hears Taichi before he sees him, laughter echoing around the shrine, and lets his sash drop from his fingers as he rounds the corner and comes within view of Taichi, all dressed up and looking much cooler than he had any right to be, in his opinion. 

_“Oh! Kumon, you’re early, did something happen?”_ Taichi asks, Tsumugi twisting a bracelet onto his wrist at his side, and Kumon flushes. 

_“Just wanted to see you faster, I guess,”_ he gets out, and Taichi flushes in turn to match his bright hair. 

_“M—me too!”_ Taichi’s stuttering, and Kumon nearly moves to apologize (for what? He doesn’t really know) before Tsumugi straightens up and places a hand on both their shoulders. 

_“Let’s head out now, enjoy the night while it’s still young!”_ he says, and both of them nod quickly. _“Stay safe, alright? Or I’ll be the one with my head on the chopping block.”_

_“Yes, Tsumugi-san,”_ they chorus, and set down on the lantern-lit path down to the main area of the festival. 

— 

_“Taichi, Taichi, look!”_ he cries, tugging him by the arm to one of the stands, and points out a shiny candy-glazed apple. _“It’s a candy apple!”_

_“Oo, I’ve never tried one of those,”_ Taichi says, and searches through his clothes to find his money pouch. _“Wanna split?”_

_“If—If you wouldn’t mind, I mean! Sharing an apple!”_ Stupid Kumon, he thinks. Don’t think about sharing an apple, don’t think about holding Taichi’s hand eating the apple, and _definitely_ don’t think about Taichi’s lips stained red from the candy syrup— 

Fuck. 

As Taichi hands him the apple after taking a bite, he crunches into the apple as well. _“Like an indirect kiss,”_ he mutters through the candy bite, and nearly spits it out as he turns his head to spot Taichi going bright red. 

_“I—I mean! I—I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I’m really sorry,”_ Kumon yells, and Taichi flushes even brighter. 

_“U—Um,”_ Taichi says, taking another bite from the stick still in Kumon’s hand. _“I—If you’re gonna attack with an indirect kiss, I’ve gotta fight back, right?”_

They both stare for a couple seconds, Kumon in awe and Taichi shocked at his boldness, before quickly turning to the next stall. 

_“So!”_ Kumon claps his hands together, trying to diffuse the tension as best as he could. _“Taichi, you said you’d never been to a festival?”_

Red hair glowing in the lamplight, Taichi tilts his head looking at the goldfish. _“Nope! It’s kinda weird, I have a lot of memories of seeing them as a kid but I don’t really ever remember going to one properly…”_

Placing a foot on the bench next to them, Kumon triumphantly declares, _“Then I, Kumon, shall be your guide tonight to all things related to the festival!”_

_“Kumon, people are staring!”_ Taichi says, but neither of them make any move to calm down, and before they know it they’re both dissolving into laughter. 

_“Oh! Speaking of, wanna try out some sparklers?”_ Kumon points to a booth a couple steps away, and Taichi’s eyes light up again. 

_“Are you seriously asking if I want to be mildly destructive and light things on fire without being yelled at, Kumon?”_ Taichi’s already pulling him over to the vendor before he finishes his sentence, and Kumon laughs and tries not to drop the apple he’s ended up with. _“Your answer is a very, very loud yes!”_

— 

“ _Kumon, Kumon, this one’s orange!”_

Taichi’s running around like an overexcited puppy, figurative tail wagging, and Kumon can’t help but laugh and join in. _“Mine’s purple, see?”_

_“Oh! Like your hair!”_ Taichi points and is swiftly interrupted by his sparkler burning out, ending its life with a quiet _fizz_ and he quickly pulls another one out, lighting it with one clean motion. _“Oo, this one’s blue!”_

_“Then that one’s like your eyes, Taichi,”_ Kumon says, and smiles fondly at Taichi nearly tripping over his own clothing in his excitement. _“Ocean-blue.”_

_“Eh? My eyes aren’t anything special…”_ Taichi pops up in front of him, titular eyes open wide, and looks directly at Kumon’s own. _“I think yours are cooler!”_

_“M—Mine are just average, you know! They’re not really anything special, you don’t have to praise me…”_ Kumon apparently can’t stop himself from stuttering tonight, and he thinks with a hint of bitterness that if he were cooler, he’d be able to talk to Taichi all suave like his older brother did. 

_“Aw, but I want to!”_ Taichi says before wheeling around to grab another sparkler from the bag, lighting it up to reveal lemon-yellow. _“Look, see! Even the gods of fate must be looking upon us favourably, I just drew your eye color and it’s the prettiest one yet.”_

_“C’mon, Taichi…”_ Kumon scratches the back of his neck, sheepish. _“It’s fine, I promise I don’t mind!”_

Taichi’s pouting when Kumon turns over the bag and realizes they’ve run out of fireworks, shaking it disappointedly. _“Aw, we’re all out,”_ Taichi says, and makes to take the empty bag from him. _“Let’s go throw the bag out, we don’t wanna disturb the natural habitat.”_

_“Oh, right!”_ Kumon passes the bag easily, setting off on a path to the nearest vendor who could dispose of it. _“Just follow me, your fearless guide, and I shall lead you to a merchant most favorable to our cause!”_

Taichi laughs and Kumon flushes, gratified, before taking his hand and leading the way. It feels strangely natural to have Taichi’s hand in his, long-fingered and oddly elegant, and he revels in the way Taichi gives him a quick glance and a squeeze of the hand back. 

— 

After they get rid of the bag, Kumon notices the time—“ _Taichi, it’s getting pretty close to the time that they set fireworks off, wanna watch them with me?”_ he says, and waits hopefully for his response. 

_“Yeah, I’d love to!”_ Taichi says, and Kumon feels his heart beat faster. _“Where are we gonna watch?”_

_“Oh, there’s this really hidden spot up near the mountains that Nii-chan showed me when I was super young, I’ll take you up there! It’s really pretty,”_ he says, and is cut off by a group of giggling older girls before he manages to talk about any of the other normal activities they do. 

_“Did they seriously run out of kitsune masks?”_ one of them complains, voice sweet and high, and Kumon notices Taichi flinch slightly from his position next to him. 

_“I mean, it’s already pretty late in the night, right? And it makes sense they’d be more popular tonight than with other festivals, tonight’s specifically dedicated to the fox god after all!”_ the girl next to her says. 

Taichi’s gone quiet, his chatter dulled, and Kumon subtly starts shifting towards him to get him at least back to the shrine if he’s having another attack like earlier. 

Another voice echoes, bouncing off the wooden stall setups: _“Hina, don’t be silly, they’re not that important anyways. The fox god’s all about fun and mischief, right? Don’t waste your time with those masks, just goof off like he’d want you to do! It’s our last one before we’re adults, stop worrying about this kinda stuff…”_

He’s tuned out the girls already, vision laser-focused on Taichi, and notices him swaying on his feet. 

_“Taichi, are you okay?”_ he asks, taking Taichi’s arm gently. _“Do you want to go back to the shrine? I promise I don’t mind,”_ he reassures, and his mind fills with visions of them hanging out in whatever room Taichi lives in, just the two of them relaxing together. _“I promise I don’t mind at all.”_

_“No…no, I think I’ll be okay, I just need some time to clear my mind,”_ Taichi laughs nervously, and clutches at Kumon’s offered arm. _“Sorry, I keep ruining it when we hang out, don’t I…”_

Kumon’s quick to reassure further, saying, _“It’s not your fault! I’d never be bothered by anybody I hang out with wanting some time to chill for any reason, I know stuff happens! I like you when you get fired up, just the same as I like you when you’re calm,”_ and Taichi’s face upturns just a little. 

_“Thanks, Kumon,”_ he says, and steps forward onto the path leading away from the main line of stalls. _“Now, wanna show me the way to your secret fireworks place?”_

Kumon smiles brightly and draws his arm linked with Taichi’s a little closer, setting off on a purposeful stride on the path Juza had shown him thousands of times. 

— 

_“Right here!”_ he gestures with a flourish, pointing towards the log he and Juza had sat on since they were children. _“One premiere showing of the fireworks, for you!”_

Taichi takes a bow then sits down, shifting around. _“Amazing seat, I’m especially liking how I think I feel a stick poking directly into my lower back,”_ he grins, and Kumon grins sheepishly back. 

_“It’s part of the charm,”_ he says, and they sit in a peaceful silence as they wait for the fireworks to start. 

It’s a couple minutes before the fireworks are scheduled to start when Kumon notices Taichi clearing his throat repeatedly, putting a hand to his chest every couple seconds, and remembers briefly his earlier exhaustion on the road. 

He slaps his knees to stand up like the old man who likes to give him candies at the shop does, imitating the huff, and draws a curious tilt of the head from Taichi as he does. _“Oh, I was gonna get some ramune for us, are you thirsty?”_

Taichi responds quickly, shouting _“Yes!”_ before Kumon even finishes stretching, and laughs with his cheeks bright red afterwards. _“Maybe I was too eager? But yes please, I’ll pay you back once you get back with our drinks!”_

Kumon rushes back down the path to the main booths, purse clutched tightly in hand, and waves back at Taichi’s smiling face as he runs. 

— 

The marbles bounce in their glass cage as he returns, icy condensation dripping down his palms, and he slows down just before the side path to his hidden spot to make sure he doesn’t trip and shatter the drinks. 

When he rounds the corner to see Taichi, he notices a flash of light—and pauses in his tracks, afraid of anyone discovering them (and especially of anybody like the man they’d met earlier). 

Peeking around the trees, he’s blinded for a moment. A steady red light flows out from the clearing he’d left Taichi, and once his eyes adjust a bit, he sees Taichi himself sitting with the source of the light in his hand, smiling down. 

If he squints hard enough, he almost thinks he can make out a ghostly tail, wagging with happiness, but— 

Taichi’s always been puppy-like anyways, and he sees the light cupped in his hands, bright and glowing like a gemstone; it must be a sparkler and his imagination playing tricks on him. 

He’s beautiful like this, Kumon thinks, and stays hidden behind the tree a while longer. The red light strikes his eyes even bluer, and his hair even brighter; it’s a beauty he doesn’t know if he should witness. The glass of the ramune bottles chimes at his side, and as he looks at Taichi through the bottles, he thinks it almost reminds him of the stained glass he used to love so much as a child—otherworldly, so full of color it feels like it’ll burst, and glowing softly with the golden light of care. 

Taichi’s quick to jump to his feet when Kumon finally reveals himself, taking the offered bottle with an excited whoop, and Kumon laughs at his joy, pushing down the marble himself to sip at the sweetness. _“Just in time!”_ he says, tucking the plastic cap into his pocket, and beckons at Taichi to sit down next to him. _“The fireworks are about to start!”_

_“Tonight’s my first festival with a friend, you know,”_ Taichi shares as they sit down. _“Are the stories that it’s more fun with friends true?”_

He presses the bottle against his cheek, suddenly warmer as Taichi leans against him slightly. _“Well, if it’s with someone you like…! I’m sure it’s lots more fun that way!”_

_“It’s a good thing I like you, then!”_ Taichi responds, and giggles as Kumon pokes him in the shoulder. _“Hey, I promise I’m not messing around!”_

_“Me neither, you know!”_ he pouts. _“I think you’re a good friend too!”_

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he notices a hush fall over the mountain, and he quickly places a finger on Taichi’s lips as he tries to retort. _“Shh! The fireworks are about to start, don’t say anything ‘til they do!”_

The fireworks are just as beautiful as every other year, painting the sky red and blue and all the other colors of the rainbow, and he quietly lowers his hand to his lap as he watches. _“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”_ he says, staring up at the night sky, and he sees Taichi laugh with his head thrown back in glee out of the corner of his eye. 

_“Sure are!”_ Taichi exclaims, and then there’s nothing filling the air but the whistle of the fireworks for minutes as they admire the sights. 

_“Hey, Kumon,”_ he hears after a while, and turns his head to see Taichi fiddling with something in his hand. _“Don’t freak out, ‘kay?”_

Kumon freezes as a hand slides over his hair, fingers ghosting down the side of his face, and watches as Taichi slowly moves down to his ear. _“I said I’d pay you back for helping me earlier, right?”_ is all the warning he gets before Taichi pushes his hair back, tucking in something small at the crook of his ear. 

_“I—I—”_ he stutters as he processes how close Taichi is, only regaining some of his faculties as Taichi leans back away a little. _“What—”_

_“It’s a morning glory,”_ Taichi says, just loud enough to be heard over the boom of another firework going off. _“They’re one of the latest flowers to bloom in the summer, but I think they’re one of the most beautiful. I used to love taking care of them.”_ He smiles at Kumon, teeth white in the night. _“I think they suit you, you know!”_

_“Ah…you really think so?”_ he shrugs awkwardly, careful not to dislodge the flower. _“I didn’t think I really suited things like flowers, but if Taichi thinks so…I’m happy!”_ Reaching up, he touches the soft, waxy petals, delighting in their slight give. _“I kinda wish I could keep this, maybe I’ll go press it in a book afterwards…”_

_“You like it that much?”_ Taichi asks, eyes glowing, and Kumon sits still again as he reaches up to touch his hair. _“You’ll keep it, then.”_

They return to silence as they sip their drinks, relishing in the calmness of the night even as fireworks went up around them, and slowly, slowly, Kumon leaned his head onto Taichi’s shoulder, coming to a rest right on the muscle. 

Taichi didn’t say anything in response, just leaned back—and Kumon sighed just once, content at the feeling of Taichi’s smile pressed against his hair. 

— 

As the last of the fireworks fizz out and the sky, powder-grey with the remnants of the night of color, goes silent, Taichi gently nudges Kumon still at his side. _“Kumon, I think the fireworks are over, how do we get back?”_

At the lack of response, he nudges Kumon a little harder. _“Kumooooooon.”_

No response again. He turns his head to tease him for playing a prank on him when he sees Kumon’s cheek pressed against his side in the loose way that only the asleep do, and as he peers closer, he notices his eyelids fluttering slightly—must be having a good dream. 

_“How’d you fall asleep in all that noise?”_ Taichi wonders, laughing quietly, and considers what step to take next. 

He doesn’t want to call someone over and ask them for help—while everyone had seemed nice for the most part, he didn’t really trust them enough to help the two down the mountain, and besides, Kumon probably wouldn’t want him showing anyone his secret space. He doesn’t really want to try to carry Kumon down himself, he’d probably get lost. 

While the simplest solution would be simply to wake Kumon up and ask him to take them down, Taichi looks again at Kumon’s sleeping face and decides quickly it’d be a crime to wake the boy up. 

So, he hoists Kumon’s surprisingly wiry body up in his arms, and starts to pick his way down the now-dark mountainside, careful not to jostle him. 

_“Excuse me! Sorry, one moment!”_ Taichi calls moving through the crowd, and sets down a path that he thinks he saw Kumon head down earlier that day—hopefully one leading to his home and not to some random sweets shop, but he didn’t exactly have a wealth of options anyways. 

As he steps lightly on the dirt road, Taichi looks down at Kumon in his arms and thinks of the way his eyes had looked earlier, reflecting the fireworks. _Pretty_ , he’d thought, and he’d spent most of the night staring not at the display but at Kumon instead, completely lost in how full of life the other boy was. 

Kumon stirs a bit and Taichi quickens his step, eager to get him home before he wakes up. 

— 

Luckily for him, Taichi reaches Kumon’s house pretty fast, shifting him around in his arms to tap gently at the door. 

The person who opens the door is large, and imposing, and Taichi resists the urge to turn tail and run before the person’s face un-creases and breathes a sigh of relief. 

_“Ah, so he’s home. We were worried.”_ His face looks a lot kinder when he’s not frowning, Taichi notes as he pads across the floor of their house, guided to Kumon’s room by the older boy. _“He’s right down the hall, just lay him down on the bed and he’ll sort out his festival clothing tomorrow with much annoyance, I’m sure.”_

Taichi whispers thanks and shuts the door behind him as he tiptoes in, taking in Kumon’s room with quick sweeping movements. There’s various artworks hanging up, all fantastical depictions of gods, and he’s got more than one deformed clay figure lined up on his shelves—maybe friends with someone at the local pottery place? Various fans and wooden sticks are scattered around the room, a thin film of dust gathering on them; Taichi wonders absent-mindedly if Kumon had participated in the ceremonies in the past as a drummer. 

His bed is mostly simple, adorned with a small dog plush with red eyes and sheets that look to have been hand-embroidered—the designs are cute but simplistic, and he sees sloppy stitching outlining a bat wing right next to a much more cleanly done devil caricature. There’s two distinct styles of stitching present, but he somehow thinks it fits Kumon—always carrying others with him, even into his own house. 

As Taichi slides Kumon off his arms and into his bed, he shifts back the sheets and stares as he throws it over the other boy haphazardly. _He looks peaceful sleeping_ , Taichi thinks, and feels just a little bit special that he’s gotten to see the ever-energetic boy so still and calm. 

Kumon makes a noise as Taichi moves to leave the room, voice husky with sleep and eyes still shut, and Taichi freezes. _“Nng…?”_

He shouldn’t be woken up, Taichi thinks. They’ve had a long day, and he had to deal with Taichi earlier. _“Shh,”_ he says, walking back over to the bed, and crouches down next to Kumon. _“Go back to sleep.”_ He smooths back Kumon’s hair with a gentle touch as he whispers, and at the last second, gripped by some odd impulse and the memory of how bright his eyes had been in the dark, Taichi quickly presses his lips to Kumon’s hair and pads out of the room. 

( _Later, when Kumon wakes up, he methodically changes out of all of his festival clothing, only remembering at the last second to reach up and take out the bright blue morning glory. When his fingers brush over it, it’s a smooth and delicate hair clip, all wire and soft satin fabric—and he wonders, had the softness of the petals he’d felt the night before been the fabric that was in his hair now? Or was it something else that had given him the clip, now tucked safely into his hair once more?)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and please leave comments/kudos if you're so inclined! They always make my day and I love reading them over and over again ^w^ 
> 
> Fun facts, as always!   
> \- Kumon's brain is shutting off. He doesn't know how to deal with his crush, someone help him for the love of god.   
> \- Tsumugi and Tasuku get SLOSHED at this festival and Tsumugi does indeed regret it very very much!  
> \- I wonder what the hairpin is........hm....................................................... (thinking very hard) 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Kumon makes a habit out of hanging around the shrine in the next few weeks, enough that Tsumugi offers him a part-time job there. He laughs awkwardly and bows when Tsumugi gets that wink in his eyes and asks if there isn’t an ulterior motive, but his heart pounds: _Taichi. Taichi. Taichi_. 

He finds any excuse to be near him, tagging along on errands and taking extra jobs to go by Taichi’s room. When they chat on breaks, he learns more about Taichi—namely, his lack of worldly experiences—and he vows to take Taichi with him to experience everything he can cram into the blazing summer. Kumon spends long hours writing out lists of his favorite moments, noting each special one with a star that he wants to take Taichi too, and Juza sometimes watches him furiously write with a curious expression, wondering if this was the year his little brother had finally fallen in love. 

They go play in the river and star-gaze and visit the night market together, night after night finding new ways to spend time, and they start to memorize the exact shade of each other’s eyes. _“You have a lot of things you love, Kumon,”_ Taichi says one night when they’re sitting on the cool rock of the shrine, and Kumon smiles gently back. 

_“Of course! I really do love all of them,”_ he responds, and Taichi tilts his head quizzically. 

_“But isn’t it hard to care about so many things at the same time? Isn’t it more fun to just go with the flow and do stuff ‘cuz it’s fun at the time?”_

A calm silence falls as Kumon ponders the question, fiddling with a piece of paper between his hands. _“Well, maybe? But I’ve always thought it’s more fun if I really care about something more than if I just do it and move on.”_ The bit of colored paper takes shape between his fingers, slowly twisting into an indistinct form. _“Like, this paper is fun to mess with on its own, but if you just put a little thought and work into it,”_ he says, holding up a vaguely dog-shaped item, _“you get something a lot more fun and cool. It’s worth it to care, I think.”_ Dropping the dog in Taichi’s palm, Kumon slowly stands up, dusting off his pants. _“Caring is what makes things important.”_

_“I gotcha…”_ Taichi trails off, staring at the dog. _“So maybe, if I do this…”_ Seconds later, he holds out a perfectly folded crane, perched on his fingertip and looking ready to flutter away. _“Like this?”_

Kumon nods, peering at the tiny colored crane. _“Yeah!”_

_“But it took me only a little time to make, and it’s already done after a little while…wouldn’t it have been more fun to tear the paper into strips to make it last longer?”_ Taichi asks, and Kumon shakes his head. 

_“See, you just have to work a little bit more,”_ he closes his fingers around Taichi’s fist. _“Push more. Imagine the bird flying, or drinking, or saving the world from an army of demons,”_ he giggles, _“Then act it out!”_

Taichi closes his eyes, apparently clenching the bird in his fist, then opens it again. _“Now, maybe it’s a bird finally flying free of its cage for the first time—”_ Kumon’s interrupted by a flutter of something and watches as the bird lifts off the tip of Taichi’s finger and seemingly flies away on the wind, fluttering its paper wings to the sky. _“I guess it really did fly free…”_ He ponders for a second whether the slight glow coming off of its wings had been real, but it was a windy night and Taichi’s laugh is too distracting. 

_“Maybe I’ll imagine it doing those other things you talked about next time, Kumon,”_ Taichi says, and his eyes are sparkling alongside the night sky. _“I think I get what you mean.”_

— 

_“Back again?”_ Tsumugi asks, apparently distracted by something, and Kumon bounces on his heels. _“I’ve got a rather difficult errand for you today, do you think you’ll be able to see it through?”_

“ _Yes! I’ll try my best,”_ he says, and Tsumugi flashes a quick smile. 

_“Alright, let me go get Taichi. You’ll be heading through a stranger part of town, so I want you to have some backup just in case,”_ he says over his shoulder, and disappears into the corridors that lead to Taichi’s room. _“Read over the instruction sheet on the table!”_

Kumon picks up a sheet filled with Tsumugi’s neat handwriting, packed front to back. _Perform the cleansing rituals around the old shrine and general upkeep._ It seemed easy enough, if a bit time-consuming. Scanning the manual, all he could notice that seemed out of the ordinary was the sheer number of things he had to do, as well as the precision Tsumugi was seemingly demanding. _Set the apples with the shiniest side facing towards the shrine, nestling them neatly into the center of the offering bowls. Make sure there is nothing left obscuring the entrance except for bundles of burning incense._ Reading through the extensive list, he could kinda understand why he was supposed to take Taichi along. 

_“Kumon, how’s the list looking?”_ Tsumugi called as he reentered the main space, Taichi trailing behind with a distracted look in his eyes. _“It’s a really big responsibility, so let me know if you’re having trouble, okay? I’d normally do it myself, but I have to cover for another friend of mine on something else at the moment.”_ Kumon gives a quick, sharp nod, eyes lighting up as Taichi jogs to his side. _“And if you have any problems, you have to let me know before sundown. Send Taichi if you have to, but that’s the deadline. I’m putting my faith in you!”_

_“Got it, Tsumugi-san!”_ Tsumugi gives both of them a wave as they dash down the path, already bustling inside to presumably prepare himself, and Taichi gives Kumon’s wrist a little tug as they grin and the sheet flutters in the breeze. 

— 

_Before sundown, before sundown,_ Kumon chants, as he races around. The apples have been set, and he checks the lengthy list once more before realizing that he’s still got over half of it left to finish. _“Taichi, how’s it going over there?”_ he calls, darting around to organize the coins he’d been instructed to hang. 

_“Fine! Nearly done!”_ Taichi’s voice echoes from across the smooth rock floor of the shrine, and a cool breeze ruffles Kumon’s hair as he races to check the next item off the list. The air is cooling down, oppressive heat no longer beating down on his head, and Kumon’s nervous. If he squints and looks up into the sun in the way that Juza had told him not to so many times, he thinks he can see it slipping down into rest beneath the mountains, and Tsumugi’s command rings in his head: _Before sundown_. 

_Shake out the cloth, lay the mats, clean the ground beneath the mats because you’d forgotten to do that, ring the bell to make sure it works, check the list again, ready the incense for later—_

Kumon’s racing mind is interrupted by Taichi hissing. _“Alright?”_ he calls, and hears Taichi’s response through what sounds to be gritted teeth.

_“Sorry, I think I nicked myself on the knife,”_ Taichi says, and Kumon drops the incense in favor of checking on him. 

After reaching Taichi, Kumon grabs his hand to see if it was bad, and turns it over in confusion when he realizes there’s no wound. _“I don’t really see anything…maybe it was just a pinch?”_ Taichi shrugs in agreement, and turns his face away, seemingly bright red. _“Eh, what’s wrong?”_

_“N…nothing! Thanks for checking on me though!”_ he stutters, and Kumon sighs in relief as Taichi splutters back to his normal upbeat self. He only remembers to drop Taichi’s hand when he realizes he’d thrown the incense sticks aside in his haste, and racing back to them he sees the delicate sticks scattered in the dust, about a quarter of them snapped. 

_Shit,_ he thinks, and frantically squints at the sun again. Maybe he’d have time to run back and get more if he finished all the tasks quickly. But then again, maybe he wouldn’t, and then he’d just end up with some of the sticks unlit when it had _said_ in the instructions to precisely follow the rules, and he didn’t want to let down Tsumugi when he had put so much trust in him— 

He decides to try to run back later. 

— 

The sun’s ticking lower and lower every time Kumon squints, and he’s still not done with the list yet. He’s got around a quarter left to finish, and even with Taichi helping there’s so much that he hasn’t finished yet (since it’d be irresponsible of him to push these tasks off onto someone else, wouldn’t it?) and he can’t help but stare at the lengthening shadows as he rushes around trying to complete everything. 

He keeps wondering why it’s so hot, when it should be getting cooler as the sun sets. 

Kumon sweeps the ground and hangs the talismans and sprinkles the sand in a daze, all energy from before sapped away underneath a red-hot haze. He thinks he’s following the list, he’s really trying his best (and he _has_ to try his best otherwise he’ll be disappointing Tsumugi-san and Taichi and everyone else), but he’s so hot and he has to squint to see anything properly on the instructions sheet. Taichi’s wandered by a few times and asked if he’s doing okay, and Kumon thinks he gave some sort of coherent answer, but it’s hard to tell what his lips are forming because he’s licking them every couple seconds because they’re so dry because he’s so hot because it’s so hot. 

He thinks he should’ve completed all of the tasks by now, he knows he’s fast enough, but the heat is too much for him, and he keeps fumbling with everything, and Tsumugi-san’s going to be so disappointed in him and so is Taichi and so is his brother and everyone else that’s ever loved him is going to be disappointed because he’s not able to do anything. 

Kumon blinks, and for a second the world spins, and the next moment he’s sitting on the ground, Taichi looking worriedly down at him. _“Kumon? What’s going on? Are you okay?”_

He just blinks steadily, staring into Taichi’s ocean-blue eyes, and wonders if he could jump into them and then he’d be cool. _“What?”_ Oh, he’d said something out loud. _“Kumon, I—”_ A cold hand rests on his forehead, and he hisses. _“You’re—Isn’t that way too hot?”_ Kumon doesn’t know, he doesn’t know anything and he doesn’t know how to do anything properly. 

_“Stay still,”_ Taichi mutters. _“Can I see the list?”_ Kumon fumbles at his side with fingers that feel like fat sausages, and manages to fish it out from the sash. _“Let me try to finish these, you don’t hafta do it alone…just sit there and try to cool off, or sleep or something, then we can go back to Tsumugi-san and he can probably help.”_ Kumon thinks he should help, and he wants to so bad, but it’s much too hot and he can’t even get up properly. _“Keep yourself cool,”_ Taichi adds with another touch to his forehead, and suddenly Kumon’s so blissfully cool that it feels like he’s been plunged into the deep sea. 

As he sees Taichi run off in the sides of his eyes, his eyes slip shut, and he falls into a deep, deep sleep. 

— 

Kumon jolts awake, back slamming against the rock table he’d leaned up against. The first thing he does upon waking is check his list, but as he fumbles at his side, he brushes against nothing. Then he remembers: Taichi had taken his list, and he’d collapsed, probably from a fever again. 

It’s only when he remembers the deadline that he frantically springs up, scurrying out from under the shade to see the sun painting the sky yellow-red-orange and Taichi heading towards him with a grin. _“Hey, you’re up! I got most of ‘em done but some of them seemed kinda long, so I mostly did the short ones since I can at least get those done fast. Tsumugi-san probably won’t mind that much, I hope…although I do feel bad for not being able to do everything he asked…”_ he calls, and Kumon panics. 

_“Shit, shit shit shit shit shit,”_ he chants, and frantically grabs the list from Taichi’s hands. There are still a couple tasks left that aren’t complete, and he sees the sun setting, and knows there won’t be enough time to call Tsumugi or to finish everything. _“No, I can’t, shit shit shit shit—-”_

Taichi tilts his head from over Kumon’s shoulder. _“What’s wrong?”_

“ _No, I needed to finish these all before sundown, Tsumugi-san said so, and now they’re not all done and it’s because I can’t finish them,”_ he rambles, crinkling the edges of the paper. 

_“...He said that?”_ Taichi freezes in shock, and stares wide-eyed down at the list Kumon’s massacring in his hands. _“...Shit.”_

Taichi talks over Kumon’s frantic muttering, saying, _“I—Sorry, I don’t think I was paying enough attention to Tsumugi-san or something, I didn’t think it mattered that much…”_ and Kumon looks up long enough to give a quick shake of his head before staring back down at the list. 

_“It’s fine, it’s my fault,”_ he says, and as the words drip from his mouth, the last sliver of the sun slips below the horizon, and darkness falls in thick curtains on the old shrine. 

— 

Taichi and Kumon are racing around trying to complete whatever tasks they can in the deep, thick darkness that coats everything. There isn’t any talking anymore, just glances at the list clutched in Kumon’s hands and panting as their feet carry them from task to task. 

Kumon’s arranging some shrine ornaments when he suddenly gets the distinct feeling that something’s wrong, and spends a few seconds deliberating before realizing: everything’s gone silent. 

The cicadas that had been keening, the patter of their sandals on the packed earth, even the sound of his own breathing—all gone, and as he glances around, the full moon hangs still in the sky, with even the clouds not budging an inch. _“Ta—Taichi?”_ he tries to call out, but his voice just doubles back over onto himself and sounds strangely muted and muffled. _“Taichi!”_

That’s when there’s a flash in the air and his eyes explode with an afterimage of light, just as bright and searing as the fireworks he’d taken Taichi to. He calls again for Taichi, voice hoarse and desperate, and once the light fades from his eyes, he finally sees him. 

Taichi’s backed up against the pillars of the shrine, lithe body pressed tight to the aging wood, and floating a good couple feet above the ground across from him is— 

Kumon assumes that this figure could only be a god. 

Bright purple eyes, as bright as his hair, shining with the divinity of the heavens; pink-tinted hair pulled back into a flowing short ponytail; a striped-and-dyed robe with sashes criss-crossing in so many ways he didn’t even know where to look—Kumon’s not stupid, he’d heard the stories. Heard from Tsumugi, over and over again, how gods appeared to ordinary mortals and toyed with their lives on a whim. This god’s body is literally shining with power, enough so that it almost hurts to look, but…

But he’s threatening Taichi, Kumon thinks. 

Kumon knows what Taichi looks like when pushed to the brink, knows the pained expression that etches itself across his face, sees the panic clear as days shining in his bright, bright eyes, and doesn’t think. Instead, he moves, padding across the mats on the shrine floor to step neatly in front of Taichi and clear his throat, stating in a quivering voice: “ _Leave him alone.”_

The god stops advancing for a second, shocked in place. _“Leave him alone?”_ it mocks, voice pitching high and tremulous. _“Now, who do you think you are?”_

Kumon feels like he’s going to die, he knows he’s going to die, but he can feel Taichi frozen behind him and refuses to choke again. _“Kumon Hyodo, and I’m his friend. What business do you have here?”_ he recites, repeating the questions Tsumugi had drilled into his brain, and tries to steady his voice as much as possible. 

It laughs, high and quick and mean, and floats a little closer. _“I’m here to deal with your little puppy friend. He doesn’t belong down here, I told them it was a mistake, and now I’m here to clean up after everything like I always do.”_ Kumon hears Taichi let out a pained whining from behind him, and refuses to budge. _“Move out of the way, mortal, he failed the task and let me in. He should face his consequences for once.”_

_Task…?_ Kumon’s brain races, trying to connect the dots. 

_He’d been assigned, with Taichi, to clean up at a shrine so they wouldn’t get any wayward spirits._

_Tsumugi had said this task was very important, and that it should be completed before sundown._

_Task. Task. Task._

_He’d run a fever again and left Taichi to do everything himself, and they hadn’t finished._

_A task. A failed task, and a god let in._

Kumon gasps as he realizes what he’s done. 

_It was all his fault again._

He stiffens and locks his legs after his realization, refusing to budge an inch. _“You’re not getting past me.”_

The god stares, cruelty sparking in its eyes. _“Excuse me?”_

Kumon refuses to back down. He won’t let Taichi down a second time. _“I said, you’re not getting past me.”_ He feels Taichi slowly collapse to the ground, as the god draws closer and closer. _“He doesn’t want you here.”_

Another smirk draws itself across the god’s face like it’s being stitched in, and it says, “ _So he’s finally found a human to switch jobs with, huh? C’mon, puppy, get up and do what you’re supposed to do.”_ Taichi whimpers again from behind him, and Kumon catches a glimpse of him pressing his fists to his head so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. _“Can’t handle it anymore? Can’t handle the truth?”_

He can feel his own forehead heating up, and the god’s ever-approaching light and heat isn’t helping matters. Every single time, he tries to be dependable and does things right, and he can’t handle the stress every single time, but— 

He refuses to let people down again. He knows he has people supporting him and relying on him. 

The ground’s growing hazy again, and the god’s striped robe is wavering under his gaze, but Kumon stands his ground. 

_“How long are you going to wait there? Let’s go, little puppy, stop pretending like you’re special and go back to all you’re good at. Maybe I’ll even let you get a little taste of that responsibility you want so bad. Yeah, that’s right, I’ll let you clean my boots,”_ it laughs, and Kumon’s starting to grow really sick of that shrill ringing. 

_“You’re so full of yourself,”_ he says without really thinking, and the god’s laughter cuts off halfway through its trill. 

_“Excuse me?”_

“ _If you had to wait for two young teenagers to mess up a shrine ritual to come back, that’s kinda weak, isn’t it? I dunno, if you were more powerful I’d have expected you to maybe come down on your own instead of waiting for us to mess up an apple placement or something,”_ he shrugs, and Kumon barely even knows what he’s saying but words pour out of him like honey as he stares surreptitiously at Taichi still hunched on the floor. 

_“You—I—”_ The god clutches at its hair, divine air slipping a bit for the first time as it lands on the ground with a tap. _“I am a GOD!”_ it cries, and suddenly Kumon finds himself enveloped in another burning burst of light. 

It hurts, god it hurts, and his fever feels like it’s driving even higher, but he refuses to move. _“You can’t even leave two children alone? This is how you find your fun?”_ Kumon keeps taunting, mouth running on autopilot as he tries to shield Taichi as much as he can, and the god turns an interesting shade of red before his eyes narrow and he addresses the boy hidden behind Kumon’s body. 

_“Puppy, aren’t you tired of being on earth? Aren’t you bored yet? Aren’t you sick of pretending to be good?”_ it spits. _“You don’t belong here, you don’t belong anywhere except back with us, a pet to keep around for amusement that can do whatever it wants. It’s more fun that way, hm?”_

_“Shut up,”_ Taichi grits out from behind Kumon, and he hears little droplets of blood drip-drip onto the ground as Taichi bites into his lip. _“I’m not—I—”_

_“Look at your blood,”_ the god laughs. _“Open your eyes and see the truth.”_

Taichi gasps out again, and Kumon drags another step back, closer to him. _“I said leave, he doesn’t want you here,”_ Kumon hisses through parched lips, and gasps as he’s hit with another blast of light. _“Leave,”_ he whispers again. 

_“How long do you want to keep doing this, mortal?”_ it sighs, and twirls a little staff it produces from its robe folds. _“Move out of the way.”_

_“No,”_ Kumon says with finality. _“I’m not going to let him down.”_ The world’s a bright haze of color, and he’s shivering and too-hot all at once, but he refuses to budge. 

_“Fine. Guess we’ll do this the hard way, all because the puppy didn’t want to come home to his master.”_

The god shrugs, then directs the staff at Kumon, sending a blinding stream of yellow-gold-pink heat and godly light directly at his chest. 

The first blast shocks him deep, drawing a pained, guttural noise from his lips that are already cracking and bleeding. The ensuing stream, however, drowns him in a world of pain. 

It burns and hurts and tears at his soul, hitting every raw and painful part of him, whispering: _You’ve let your brother down. He doesn’t love you, how could he love anything this weak and pitiful when he’s so strong? You’ve let Taichi down. How could someone so bright ever love someone so dull and lifeless? You’ve never done anything for longer than it takes to get a fever, and you get a fever every single time you’re even close to making anyone you know proud._ He thinks he sees Taichi gasping in pain around the bright inferno of light in his chest. _They all lie to you, you know, every single day. Tsumugi-san lies to you, Taichi lies to you, your precious older brother lies to you, they tell you that they like you and that you’re a good person, but you’re rotten inside. Why would you be so sick if you weren’t?_ He refuses to collapse. He refuses to let Taichi down. _Bad. Bad. You’re a bad person. It’d be easier if you were gone. Bad. Rotten. Evil. Giving up would be the only thing you’ve ever done right._ His chest burns, so bad, and it’s worse than any other fever he’s ever had. He thinks he hears the god’s laugh again, and every ringing note is like a knife in his brain. _Give up, already, and make it easier on everyone else. Nobody will ever love you. Useless, worthless, pathetic, mewling little human. Give up give up giveupgiveupgiveupgiveup—_

When Kumon was young, he’d sidled up to Juza one hot summer afternoon, and begged to see fireworks. _“I want to see the lights, please please please?”_ he’d cried, and Juza had awkwardly smiled at him and taken his small hands in his. 

_“Press your hands to your closed eyes, like this, and look at the colors that explode there, and it’ll kinda be like fireworks,”_ his brother had said, and he’d pressed his hands to his face in fascination for hours. 

He sees fireworks go off in his head again, only this time he’s not pressing anything to his face, and he turns to catch a glimpse of Taichi and meet his eyes one last time before his knees buckle and his knees crack on the floor. 

_“I didn’t let you down, right?”_ he chokes out, before the fireworks take over and everything else goes away permanently, with only those ocean-blue eyes etched into his sight to blink curiously at him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENERGY'S GETTING UP HIGH TENSION GALORE!!! Sorry for the late update, but I hope it was worth it waiting!!! 
> 
> One more chapter and we should be all done ^w^ Look forward to it!
> 
> And as always, please leave kudos/comments if you like my writing! I love you forever if you do so :3


	4. Chapter 4

Taichi howls when Kumon falls in front of him, long and keening and deep, and he thinks nothing hurts as bad as seeing someone he loves drop like a dead stone. 

_“Alright, now come back already,”_ the god snaps, and Taichi peels himself from the rough wooden beam to lunge forward in front of Kumon. _“What—”_

He refuses to cower any longer, refuses to sit and twiddle his thumbs like nothing mattered in the world, like he hadn’t found someone who’d lit up his day and his night with fireworks bright in his eyes. His blood goes _drip-drip-drip_ on the ground, bright and molten gold, and he screws his eyes so tight that he thinks he sees fireworks behind them before snapping them open with an intensity matching the explosions that lit up the night sky their night together. 

Taichi opens his eyes, and they are the eyes of a god. 

Gold flows from them as easily as the water babbles in the brooke, and they blaze with the light of righteous anger and fury and everything else that Taichi never let himself feel when he thought he was all-powerful, thought there was nothing else in the world besides him and his momentary moments of fun, thought that the most important thing was the next prank he could play on mortals. _“Haruto,”_ he cries, and he calls out the god’s true name with confidence despite the rawness of his voice. _“I’ll strike you down!”_

He thinks of Kumon for a brief second, thinks of just how cool he’d found demons and gods and everything in between, and thinks of how much he would’ve loved what he’d just yelled before he bares his teeth— _fangs_ —and leaps towards Haruto. 

— 

They clash in a vicious tangle of power, Haruto spinning his staff and directing his blasts every which way and Taichi leaping with all the agility of a wolf over them to claw savagely at his face. The bursts of magic leave pockets hollowed out in the earth surrounding the shrine, kicking up dust with every hit, and Taichi neatly hides himself in the dust to launch himself at Haruto before darting away again. 

_“Stay still, you little—”_ Taichi dodges another blast, flexing his feet to turn on a point, and gets in another swipe at Haruto’s arm before a blast singes his hair and he turns literal tail. _“You can’t run forever! I’ll make you my pet eventually!”_ Haruto screeches, voice growing increasingly annoyed. 

Kumon’s all he can think of, Kumon with his paper cranes and his clothing that has little neat careful stitches because someone loves him enough to mend it and his smile as he tells him that even the little things have worth, and he growls as he makes another pass at Haruto. _“You don’t even have magic, don’t you? Accept your fate as a side character!”_

He feels like his head is going to burst, angry as he is. Angry with himself for constantly relying on Kumon, angry with Haruto for hurting Kumon, and angry with _everything_ for being so cruel as to give him a good thing and take it away with nothing to show for it. Taichi sees red, bright and vicious dancing in his vision, and he hears Haruto yell again that he’s meant to be the sideshow from a far, far distance. 

Taichi leaves a trail like King Midas wherever he dashes, red in his eyes clashing with the gold of his own blood he sees so clearly on the floor, red-gold-red-gold-red-gold. Haruto’s jeering at him that he can’t calm down, that he’s too worked up to even be a challenge, and he thinks quickly of Kumon’s laughter at the fireworks festival and a reassurance: _“I like you when you get fired up, just the same as I like you when you’re calm.”_

_“Ocean-blue eyes,”_ Kumon’s voice echoes in his mind, and the red haze calms just a bit. _“Ocean-blue eyes,”_ and he sees Kumon’s soft flush as he tucks the morning glory behind his ear. _“Ocean-blue eyes,”_ Kumon says, and he feels the last of the redness fade as a blissful cool glory fills his soul. 

_“Give up,”_ Haruto laughs as Taichi closes his eyes. 

_“No.”_ He opens them again, eyes the ocean-blue Kumon had loved, and snarls before launching himself again at the pink-haired god, claws flashing yellow and blue. Taichi’s claws sink into Haruto’s suddenly wide-open chest like a knife through a crisp-red apple, magic burning at the tips of the suddenly sharpened claws and leaving its vicious mark. 

_“Since—since when do you have magic,”_ Haruto coughs out, and Taichi wipes away some of the flowing blood before smiling with just a touch too many teeth. 

_“Since him.”_

Haruto’s eyes widen and he moves to sing his swan song, sends out a final blow, and Taichi laughs a short laugh before realizing—the blow isn’t meant for him. 

It’s meant for the barely-stirring Kumon behind him, who’s just blinking his eyes open now to stare blearily at Taichi, who’s got the marks of battle on his eyes and clothing and who gives him a look of complete trust despite his claws and fangs before getting hit square in the chest with another burning-bright stream of magic. 

The sound sears itself into his brain, the little choked noise Kumon makes before falling over again with his chest still. 

Taichi cries out, swipes at Haruto one last time with all the anger and pain he feels, and doesn’t even stay to watch as the cocky god flees to nurse his wounds before sprinting over to Kumon’s rapidly cooling body and collapsing. 

_“K—Kumon, no, wait, hold on—”_ He babbles meaningless nonsense as he frantically tries to breathe life back into Kumon, tries every spell he can think of and chants every prayer he can remember as he clutches Kumon’s hand and sobs breathlessly. _“No, wait, you didn’t let me down, you can’t—”_

_“Come back, come back, I’m sorry, come back,”_ he says, and he prays so fervently to save Kumon that he thinks he sounds like he’s saying one of the chants that the other gods tried so hard to have him learn. _“I’ll do anything, I’ll be a good god, I’ll do everything properly, please.”_

Taichi can only bear to keep kneeling for so long, and he cries desperately into Kumon’s chest as the three-minute mark passes, tears mixing with the cloth and dying it gold. _“I’ll be good—I’ll be so good, please—”_

_“…Taichi?”_ an unfamiliar voice echoes from a couple feet away, deep and resonant, and Taichi only pauses in his wailing long enough to look up. _“I…what’s happening?”_

He realizes in a flash who stands before him. Tall, imposing, eyes furrowed in worry; his mentor stares in shock, with Tsumugi standing mouth agape at his side. 

_“Tasuku-san…?”_ he manages to get out, before a fresh wave of tears drip from his eyes and he remembers again why he’s in the state he is. _“Tasuku-san, please help, Kumon—the mortal—he—”_

Tsumugi’s stepping his way over before he can finish, moving to feel Kumon’s pulse _(he’s checked, there isn’t one, it’s hopeless)_ and try to peel Taichi from his side. _“Who…Taichi,”_ he says, eyes turning kind in that way you’d look at an injured animal. _“Taichi, who hurt him?”_

Taichi stutters out a choked explanation _(Haruto came to see him fail and wanted to take him away Kumon tried to stop him and died because of it)_ and Tasuku places his hand on his shoulder, reassuring and calming. 

_“You love him, don’t you.”_ It’s not a question, it’s a statement, and Tasuku stares at him with eyes full of intensity. 

_“Yes,”_ Taichi chokes out with certainty. 

_“Do you want to be with him?”_ He remembers again why Tasuku’s considered the top-ranked god, staring into his piercing gaze, and registers the question a second later. 

_“Y—Yes! Can you bring him back to life, please, he doesn’t deserve anything bad and you’re the best so you can do anything, right? Please—”_ His rambling is cut off by Tasuku’s slight squeeze on his shoulder, and he glues his lips shut. 

Tsumugi stands from Kumon’s side with a _Hup_ , weaving over to stand next to Tasuku. _“Tasuku can’t bring him back to life, I’m afraid. He’s used up his life force.”_

Tears spring fresh to his eyes, and he says, “ _But there must be something—!”_

Tsumugi puts a gentle finger up to his lips. _“There’s something else I can do, but it’s not a decision you have to make lightly, Taichi.”_

He opens his mouth before he can think, blurting out, _“Anything, I’ll take on the responsibility.”_

Tasuku stares at him contemplatively, saying, _“They cast you out because you took everything too lightly. Because you didn’t care enough, and just drifted from every day to the next, just trying to amuse yourself.”_ He opens his mouth to try to respond, but Tasuku keeps going. _“What is it about this boy that changed you? That made you finally start to care?”_

_“Because he cares so much, Tasuku-san,”_ Taichi responds, surprising himself with the strength in his voice. _“He cares about every little thing and he told me that my eyes were ocean-blue. He cares enough about people to have them think of him even when he’s not here. He cares enough to protect me.”_

Tsumugi and Tasuku share a private glance, before Tsumugi turns back to him. _“I can give Kumon his life back, Taichi. But it’ll come at the cost of your godhood.”_

He pauses for a second, taken aback. Kumon, for the cost of his godhood. Kumon, for everything he’d ever been for centuries. Kumon, for the gift of immortality and all-seeing power. 

Taichi makes the choice in the next instant. 

_“Anything you have to do, I’ll be waiting.”_

Tsumugi smiles a gentle smile, Tasuku quirking his lip, and they both nod. _“Alright, Tasuku, lend me your strength,”_ Tsumugi calls, and motions for Taichi to step away. 

Taichi watches as Tasuku transforms into the jet-black shadow he’d seen before as Taichi the wolf god and twines himself around Tsumugi’s chanting body. _“The next step, for a soul lost and and found once more,”_ he says, and Taichi stares at his claws and tail for the final few seconds before they fade away quietly, like petals blowing away in the summer breeze. _“A tether to this fateful earth; one choice of a thousandfold more.”_

Before his eyes, Kumon’s pale skin floods back to life, eyelids fluttering and chest rising and falling, and just as the eyes blink back open, Taichi slumps to the ground, Kumon’s brilliant yellow eyes burnt into his mind.

— 

Taichi wakes up to a soft hum of a festival tune and long, cool fingers threading through his hair. 

He blinks, sleepily, turning over and stretching his arms to rise before remembering— 

_“Kumon!”_

He hears a gentle laugh at that, and his eyes dart around the room before landing on Kumon’s smiling face. _“Kumon, I—”_

_“Heard you gave up something real good to bring this back,”_ he hears Kumon say, and suddenly he feels something wet drip onto his cheek. _“Was it worth it?”_

Tears, that’s what they are, he realizes with a distant corner of his brain, and glances again to meet Kumon’s crying eyes. 

_“A thousand times and more,”_ he whispers before pushing himself up. _“For you, anything would be worth it.”_

Kumon smiles again, hesitantly, before lowering his voice. _“Did I let you down?”_

_“Never,”_ Taichi lets his hushed voice sail into the rafters of the shrine’s side room. _“Never,”_ he says, as he moves close enough to count all of the specks in Kumon’s eyes. _“Never,”_ he says into Kumon’s lips, as he presses their mouths together in a kiss that has all of the passion that’s filling him so full he could burst. 

They fall out of the kiss laughing and crying, tears mixing with happiness, and Kumon stares at him long enough that Taichi asks, _“What’s so interesting?”._

_“Your hair’s black now,”_ Kumon points, and Taichi cries out indignantly. 

_“My brand! How will anyone recognize me without my red!”_

Kumon just stares fondly still, eyes meeting his own with soft love. _“It’s okay,”_ he reassures. _“Your eyes are still ocean-blue.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much if you've read this and stuck with me the whole time! I really, really, really, appreciate anyone who's ever read this, and can't thank you enough if you've ever so much as glanced at it. 
> 
> Some fun facts, as always:   
> \- Taichi's a wolf god! Little puppy boy. We love him!! He still likes getting pet on the head after he loses his powers.   
> \- Taichi was outcast from the world of the gods because he was too flippant with his powers and jumped from amusement to amusement way too fast, Tasuku used to be his mentor and was always warning him to be a little more responsible.   
> \- Tasuku and Tsumugi are.....dating? Married? Soul-bound? Who knows. Tsumugi's in this weird half-state between being human and Not, and he and Tasuku essentially share a life force. Nobody knows what's going on there, and Taichi's sure as hell not gonna ask.   
> \- Taichi's hair faded to black because of the loss of his powers!  
> \- Taichi gets basically adopted by Tsumugi after the whole debacle, and he works at the shrine now! He also has a fistfight with Haruto whenever Haruto comes down from the world of the gods. No magic powers, just going At It, and Tsumugi places bets on who's going to win while Tasuku sighs.   
> \- Yes, all of this was spawned from a shitty joke I made about "haha what if they were actually gods because god-za".
> 
> Thank you again for reading, and please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! I'll definitely appreciate it a lot <3

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry again I've been so absent lately! I'm preparing for college applications, so I'm a bit swamped with college entry essays--a mile less fun than writing fanfiction, for sure m(___)m.  
> Thank you so much for finishing the fic!
> 
> Your daily dose of fun facts:  
> \- Banri and Juza already had their own relationship drama years ago in this fic. They're now happily dating and Kumon has come to begrudgingly accept the existence of Banri as a mainstay.  
> \- More fun facts to come as I update! I'll update this fic probably bi-weekly or weekly, so keep an eye out for that <3 I'll be very punctual with my updates!
> 
> Thank you so so much again for reading, and please comment and leave kudos if you'd like! I cannot emphasize enough how much I love and reread comments over and over again, they're 100% the thing that keeps me going. I love talking about writing and about A3, so please please leave a comment (<\-- the voice of a desperate author) !  
> Thank you!


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